Human enterprise is having a massive effect on global biodiversity. Natural habitats are being lost at unprecedented rates and more still are being converted or degraded, especially in the tropics where most biodiversity is found. While much attention has been placed on the use of protected areas as a means of conservation, there is an increasing need to understand the capacity of unprotected, human-dominated landscapes to provide refuge and connectivity between core areas of wildlife habitat. My research is based in Sumatra, Indonesia, where much of the landscape is now dominated by oil palm production, degraded forests and rural settlements. Research has demonstrated that many medium/large mammals of conservation concern are able to persist in these marginal habitats. However, little is known as to what extent, or where and how these species survive. My objective is to identify the anthropogenic and environmental factors associated with species persistence in this context.

I am jointly supervised by Chris Carbone (Institute of Zoology) and jointly funded by NERC and a WCS/Kaplan Scholarship.